Tags archives: chief-marketing-officer

Will it play in Peoria? This phrase is synonymous with questioning the success of, well, just about anything. You can see the principle behind it in use throughout the world, whether it is science or business strategy, marketing or product placement. But what does it mean for something to play in Peoria? Why is that so important? Delving behind the metaphorical question, you’ll find that it is all about testing. […]

It was the most engaging of times. It was the least engaging of times. It was an age of fabulous fellowship. It was an age of fake followers. It was the spring of sharing. It was the winter of shilling. Our audience was looking down, but would our prospects ever look up? Are you looking down right now? There is a good chance you are if you are reading this […]

It has now been over 9 years since its launch and NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has traveled more than 3 billion miles at a cost of over $700 million in order to send us back a clear picture of Pluto. Will the new data from the spacecraft have the potential to change Pluto’s planetary status? The real question is; ‘does Pluto’s status really matter now?’ Pluto had been classified as […]

What does “transparency” in business actually mean? A lot of material has been written on that topic over the last few years in relation to social media marketing. Most of articles deal with transparency at the corporate branding level although some authors provide commentary around personal branding. I’ll admit that a few of my own blog posts touch on transparency; yes, in many cases authenticity, relevance and trust are also […]

You created a presence on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter placing your small business on the social media party grid. Free word-of-mouth marketing was supposed to take over and the cash register start ringing. It hasn’t played out that way, so what happen? A Foundation for Growth Social media platforms can provide the foundation for growth. Social platforms can help you and your organization be found, find, and engage your target […]

Word-of-Mouth Marketing (WOMM) today is both online and through face-to-face interaction. At times we think of WOMM in terms of marketing buzz, the interaction of users of a product or service that amplifies the brand and in some cases goes viral. In reality, regular old everyday “buzz” is not as glamorous as we marketers like to imagine. Recommendations from friends and family don’t often come with viral like excitement, but […]

This is part three of three from my eBook “Managers as Lifelong Learners” and continues my earlier thoughts on “How to build talent in your organization.” Talent Mobility When I was much younger, I worked as a roughneck in the West Texas oil fields. The guys I worked with dubbed me “college boy” because they knew I’d be heading back to school in the fall. As you might guess I […]

“In Search of Failure.” That’s the title of chapter seven in Frederick Reichheld’s book The Loyalty Effect. In that chapter, Reichheld points out that an investor who built a stock portfolio out of the companies profiled in the book In Search of Excellence (Peters and Waterman) would have seen their returns trounced by the mediocre performance of the S&P index during the ten year period following the book’s 1982 publication. In fact, by […]

I have an electric stove with a turbo boil feature. The manufacturer calls this feature “America’s fastest speed-to-boil” element. In fact, it does heat liquids in a snap. Have you ever been tempted to set your marketing communications strategy on turbo boil? You know, turn up the “always be closing” heat in order to snap the prospect through the sales funnel. Turbo boil is great for making hot tea; but […]

It’s springtime and that means my weather alert radio will soon be broadcasting storm warnings: “The National Doppler Radar System has indicated that local conditions are right to produce severe weather. High winds, damaging hail, and flash floods are likely products of this storm. Seek immediate shelter moving away from doors and windows.” Why do I often reject the alert advice by running to the front door to see what’s happening […]

I recently attended a faculty meeting to kick-off the New Year. One of the presentations disclosed enrollment trends that did not surprise, but none the less disappointed some of my fellow faculty. An increasing number of students are enrolling in online as opposed to on-campus courses. In short, the online modality more closely matches many students desired method for consuming education. Although most of the faculty can teach both online […]